Books Read

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Book Spotlight! Exhile by Nikki McCormack, an Excerpt, and a Giveaway! #ExileTour

Betrayed by ally and by love, stranded by uncontrollable magic, Yiloch struggles to make his way back before Caithin can declare war...

Publication Date: December 11, 2015

Series: Forbidden Things, Book Two

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Yiloch, the newly crowned Emperor of Lyra, stands accused of arranging the assassination of the Caithin royal family. Torn between love for Yiloch and her close ties with the royal family, Indigo wants nothing more than to prove the accusation false, but the evidence puts the blood of the family on his hands.

Trying to protect the Lyran prince from the swift descent of Caithin justice, Indigo exposes the workings of an enemy who is willing to kill to protect his secrets. In desperation, she unleashes magic that sends Yiloch deep into the desert of Kudan before fleeing for her life. She must find him again to save his life as well as her own.

Betrayed by ally and by love, stranded by uncontrollable magic, Yiloch struggles to make his way back to the Lyran capital before Caithin can declare war, but standing between him and his empire is a lethal new enemy, wielding magic unlike anything his people have faced before.

Excerpt

The sound of footsteps on the stairs tickled at the edge of Indigo’s consciousness. It was important that she acknowledge the sound, but she still hadn’t solved her dilemma and the distraction was unwelcome. When the sound finally drove into her awareness like an arrowhead piercing the skin, she glanced at the door in alarm. She didn’t recall bolting it and that quick glance confirmed that she hadn’t done so. Jumping up from the chair, she reached out with a tendril of ascard, jerking it back when the door flew open before she could correct her mistake.

“How could you disgrace me like this?” he snarled, the slight slur in his speech confirming the excess of drink involved.

Her heart pounded and she stepped back, realizing too late that it would be her second mistake of the evening.

Encouraged by her show of fear, Jayce sneered and came forward.

“Jayce,” she managed a soothing tone despite the tremor of remembered fear that vibrated through her. “Let this go. It’s over and done with.” She opened to more ascard, feeling that power fill her. As she did so, she also checked her masking to be sure she wouldn’t draw attention if she had to use it against him.

Please, just let it go.

She wasn’t supposed to know how to do most of the things she could do with ascard and it would bode ill to let him in on those things. If only she could talk him down this time, get him to give up.Jayce’s lip lifted in a silent snarl. “You aren’t going to get the last word, Indigo.” He hissed her name like it was some foul thing that people only whispered of in dark corners. “That isn’t the way this works.”

He moved forward again and she backed a few more steps, trying to maintain distance between them. This time she came up against a table and had to move to one side to clear her way. “Why don’t we sit down and talk about it? Maybe we can find a way to settle things that works for both of us.”

He shook his head. “No one else gets to have you.”

She narrowed her eyes, the ring becoming heavy on her finger, reminding her that someone else had already had her, someone handsome and powerful who needed her. Stopping her retreat, she stood tall and stared hard at him. “It’s too late for that.”

Lightening flashed in his eyes and she cursed herself for letting her emotions get the upper hand. One moment of reciprocated anger, a mere flash of defiance, was all he needed to keep his rage burning hot.

“Whore,” he yelled, his voice cracking. A tear ran down his cheek and her stomach twisted into knots. Did he actually believe he ever loved her or that she somehow belonged to him? “I’ll drag you down to the docks and sell you to the slave traders. Maybe they can find a use for you.”

Anger and frustration pounded their way to the surface. She was wasting precious time arguing with him. People she cared for were in danger. “Get out.”

Jayce lunged at her then, the movement so sudden that she didn’t manage to dodge him. He grabbed a fistful of hair, using it to pull her head back and down. She staggered, a second of panic overriding rational thought. One knee struck the floor, sending a bolt of pain up through her hip. His eyes were wide and a lunatic grin warped his handsome features. He drew back his free hand to strike her. The gesture took her back to the last time he had attacked her, before she had gone to Lyra. Everything stopped, a razor edge of hatred erasing all of her fear. She wasn’t about to let him strike her again. Not ever.

Nikki lives in the magnificent Pacific Northwest with her husband, two horses, two cats, and one slightly crazy dog. She feeds her imagination by sitting on the ocean in her kayak gazing out across the never-ending water or hanging from a rope in a cave, embraced by darkness and the sound of dripping water. She finds peace through practicing iaido or shooting her longbow.